Thank God For Al Franken

When I was at Air America Radio in 2006, I knew Al Franken was serious about running for Senate when he moved his show back to his home state of Minnesota. Rumors had turned into a serious candidacy and a hard fought campaign. In 2008, Al Franken beat incumbent Norm Coleman in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race. In 2009 after many long, litigious months, Franken was sworn into office. And in 2010 the former comedy man continues to impress, especially with his latest legislative victory recorded today.

From Yahoo News:

An amendment from Democratic Senator Al Franken would set up a government clearinghouse to assign debt rating duties to agencies, including the Big Three: Moody's Corp, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings.

That could ease pressures the agencies face to assign overly rosy ratings to debt instruments issued by firms that hire the agencies, backers of the Franken amendment said.

"There is a staggering conflict of interest facing the credit rating industry," Franken said on the Senate floor.

The Franken plan could bring more competition to ratings, said Bill Bergman, an analyst with Morningstar Inc.

Chris Dodd, known for his financial cred around the Senate, did not support this amendment coming to pass. He's not exactly a picture of cherubic goodness in D.C. if you know what I mean. Senator Dodd aside, this is a huge victory those who hold credit cards and a big defeat for those that rip off consumers and work (generally at the top) in the industry. Once the bill passes, and if the amendment remains intact, Congress' attempt at financial reform will have at least one victory written within. Congrats to Senator Franken for pushing this through, err or in Republican-speak, ramming it down our throats!

We Are About To Make A Terrible Mistake

For the last hour or so I've been watching the eloquent speeches of Senators Feingold, Dodd, Bingaman and Specter (with minor notes from others) denouncing the current FISA bill. Those few that have read the bill know that what the President signs will inevitably shred the Fourth Amendment and do (more) irreparable harm to our Constitution and our country. Those that vote against the amendments and for the bill will say that they are doing the right thing, but whatever comes out of their mouths will be lies they hope you will swallow, like these two below.

From Get FISA Right:

MYTH: Opposition to the compromise bill is because of the desire to punish telephone companies

Source(s): A good-enough spy law, Nancy Soderberg, Los Angeles Times, July 5, 2008; Flip-flop accusations get too much mileage, Ruth Marcus, Erie Times-News, July 5, 2008
Soderberg says, "the compromise bill's opponents -- mostly Democrats -- want also to punish the telecommunications companies that answered President Bush's order for help." This is a gross misrepresentation of the reasons for opposing the "compromise" bill. Arguing before the US Senate for maintaining the balance struck by the original FISA bill, Russ Feingold said, "Based on the history of, and potential for government abuses, Congress decided that it was not appropriate, not appropriate, for telephone companies to simply assume that any government request for assistance to conduct electronic surveillance was legal." (Audio)
FACT: Opposition to the FISA compromise is based on concern for fundamental civil liberties

MYTH: Telco immunity covers wiretapping suspected terrorists

Source(s): President Bush can still dream, can't he?, Kathleen Parker, South Bend Tribune
Parker says, "The bill effectively grants immunity to phone companies that wiretap suspected terrorists." The compromise bill grants broad immunity to telephone companies for any wiretapping done at the request of the government, including numerous alleged instances of wide-net gathering of all communications, both foreign and purely domestic. To suggest that immunity only covers "suspected terrorists" is a laughable statement, unless you accept that all Americans and foreigners are suspected terrorists.
FACT: Immunity covers all illegal wiretapping, including purely domestic communications

In a few minutes from now the Senate will vote on the amendments to strip retroactive immunity and the bill itself. Senator Dodd is trying to shame his fellow Senators at the moment for ignoring the Constitution and he is dead on. It is a shame that any Senator who should represent Americans before telecommunication corporations to vote for this bill. These men and women will sign their names to one of the worst pieces of legislation in recent memory.....and they will be held accountable, even if they think no one is paying attention....they would be wrong, because we are watching them.

Chris Dodd Stands Up To Bush And His Telecom Friends

This is the type of passion we need to see this week in the Senate as it debates and attempts to pass the terrible FISA legislation that George Bush so desperately desires:

FISA Situation Brightens Just A Little

Last week the House of Representatives brought a tidal wave of bad news by voting for the FISA legislation that not only gives the President unprecedented powers, but gives Bush a free pass by letting the telecommunication companies that aided and abetted his illegal spying on Americans off the hook. Plenty of Democrats voted against it, but enough voted with the Republican caucus to pass it, including many that got extra payoffs from telecom lobbying efforts. Now it heads to the Senate, and this is where we have to stand our ground and beat this bill back to the boardrooms of AT&T, Verizon and the conniving heads in the White House. The good news, the bill is most likely not going to be put to the test this month.

From RawStory:

The schedule for a FISA vote “is up in the air,” a source close to the majority leader tells Raw Story, and no decisions had been finalized Wednesday afternoon.

Senators debated the FISA bill throughout the day Wednesday, although negotiators had not brokered an agreement on how to proceed with votes on amendments. On the Senate floor, Feingold excoriated the compromise for not holding telecommunications companies accountable for their participation in the warrantless wiretapping program, despite the token court review advocates for the bill are touting as a compromise.

“No one should be fooled about the effect of this bill. Under its terms, the companies that allegedly participated in the illegal wiretapping program will walk away from these lawsuits with immunity. There is simply no question about it, and anyone who says that this bill preserves a meaningful role for the courts to play in deciding these cases is wrong,” Feingold said.

Feingold also brought up the fact that the bill is an abomination without retroactive immunity. Russ points out that the bill gives an incredible amount of power to the Presidency, something few Senators or any public official is willing to do. Senator Feingold speaks truth to power on this very important Constitutional issue and he should be commended for his actions. Keep up the fight Senator, we need all we can get to kill this bill in 2008.

Feingold And Dodd Vow To FISAbuster

Nothing was more deplorable (this month) for the Democrats than to let FISA go through the House with retroactive immunity. Pelosi, Hoyer and dozens of others forgot about their duty to their constituents and the Constitution and gave a free pass to the telecommunication companies that violated the law and let George Bush off the hook for masterminding these crimes against America. Moreover, the bill obliterates the Fourth Amendment and gives the government unprecedented power to legally spy on citizens of a supposedly free country.

Now the bill goes to the Senate and our chances aren't that great. Barack Obama did the politically centrist thing and endorsed the House bill, so counting on him to put an end to this isn't likely. However, there are at least two good men in the chamber that do care, and they are ready to filibuster this thing straight into the next Congress and hopefully make it gone for good.

From RawStory:

In a last-ditch attempt to fix a surveillance bill critics say would essentially legalize President Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program, Sens. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Chris Dodd (D-CT) have promised to filibuster the bill as long as it offers telecommunications companies retroactive immunity.

“This is a deeply flawed bill, which does nothing more than offer retroactive immunity by another name. We strongly urge our colleagues to reject this so-called ‘compromise’ legislation and oppose any efforts to consider this bill in its current form. We will oppose efforts to end debate on this bill as long as it provides retroactive immunity for the telecommunications companies that may have participated in the President’s warrantless wiretapping program, and as long as it fails to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans,” the senators said in a joint statement Tuesday.

“If the Senate does proceed to this legislation, our immediate response will be to offer an amendment that strips the retroactive immunity provision out of the bill. We hope our colleagues will join us in supporting Americans’ civil liberties by opposing retroactive immunity and rejecting this so-called ‘compromise’ legislation.”

Filibustering this bill shouldn't be too hard as long as the members remain committed. There isn't much time before the July 4th recess and once the Senate gets back there is a lot of bills to get in order. If this has the possibility of tying up the Senate for weeks, Reid might just put the bill off for good, at least for the 110th Congress. They key is to push the bill off this year and then do it right once Obama is President next year.

A Win For democracy In The Senate Today

The war is far from over, but the United States scored a huge victory today when an uphill battle to extend the debate on FISA got more than enough votes. The Republicans fight for cloture was defeated 48-45 (should have been 49-46 but Sen Landrieu D-LA changed her vote!). Now Feingold and Dodd will be able to introduce their amendment to strip retroactive immunity from the bill.

Seeing Harry Reid fight for this now as opposed to his obstruction in December is a testament to people power. He probably had no idea that people outside the beltway actually cared about retroactive immunity, so when the public outcry began, he had to reconsider. So even though he made it harder for us (with the craziness in December of not just introducing the bill without the immunity) a month ago, he was firmly on our side today. And even Senators that didn't vote our way last week changed their minds today (like Sen. Bayh and McCaskill) and decided to vote like Democrats.

Congratulations to them for seeing the light....and to all of you that fought to have your voices heard and make Bush (by default) and the telecoms stand in court and be held accountable for their criminal actions that have subverted our Constitution.

FISA Me This, FISA Me That

So today was an important one with regards to the remaking of the FISA legislation. With only a week to go before the current legislation expires, those legislators that swim in the pockets of telecom lobbyists are desperate to get retroactive immunity passed for the companies so they won't have to be held accountable for their crimes. It is a sweet deal for AT&T, Verizon and the like, but a sour proposition for the U.S. Constitution. Thankfully there are some elected representatives who are on our side, you know, the people and are fighting tooth and nail to make sure those companies that violated the law are forced to be held accountable in a court of law.

From The Huffington Post:

In an interview with the Huffington Post on Thursday morning, Sen. Russ Feingold, who opposes granting immunity to those companies, expressed disappointment that his party's leader, Sen. Harry Reid, was not doing more to help strike the provision from a newly considered version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

"Of course I have great respect for the Majority Leader," said Feingold. "He is a good friend of mine. But I really do disagree with his way of proceeding."

At issue is the likely passage of a version of FISA that contains retroactive immunity over one that doesn't. Reid has said he supports the former, but legislatively, the path has been paved for the passage of the latter. In addition, there is debate over an amendment offered by Sen. Chris Dodd, to strip immunity from any FISA bill. If that fails -- and it seems likely -- Dodd has threatened to filibuster the whole bill. On Wednesday, Reid was interpreted as saying any such filibuster will be the standing and talking variety as opposed to an agreed-upon 60-vote minimum threshold. Feingold, who supports Dodd's stance, took slight issue with that approach.

"We should have a normal process were this is debated based on a majority vote in the senate," said the Wisconsin Democrat. "That's the way it should have been done and I regret that it's not being done that way. Of course, I support Senator Dodd. He and I were principally involved in making sure this didn't get jammed through before the holidays and I will be supporting him again. But this decision does make it harder."

Now Reid supports Feingold and Dodd on principle, but he could have made the cause a lot easier to attain. Instead we are caught in this mess where a dozen Democrats capitulated to corporate America (specifically Senators Rockefeller, Bayh, Mikulski, Pryor, Salazar, McCaskill, Nelson (FL), Carper, Nelson (NE), Landrieu, Inouye, and Johnson).

At this moment, the Judiciary bill (without immunity) was ditched by sixty Senators and on Monday the issue will be taken up and Feingold/Dodd will introduce an amendment to the Intelligence bill (with immunity) to strike the immunity. Ah, Senatorial squabbles, how interesting to watch the fate of our democratic practices in the balance while they use such cordial language.

If you want, make sure to tune into C-SPAN next week before the State of the Union and see if enough Democrats stand up against the telecommunications industry and the idiot-in-chief that will be delivering his fairy tales to the Congress and the nation that evening.

FISA Is Back And Its Time To Get Dirty

Congress is now back for the 2nd half of their 110th legislative session. Guess what is on the front burner? Yep, thats right, legislation to re-constitute FISA legislation and if the telecom companies and George Bush get their way, retroactive immunity will be added to the mix. That would allow companies like AT&T and Verizon to get off the hook for their complicit crimes with the President to illegally spy on innocent Americans. We all want to do what it takes to catch terrorists, but for Bush this is strictly a power thing.

Now Chris Dodd has been leading the fight against retroactive immunity, threatening to filibuster if Harry Reid tries to pass Bush's wishes again. Reid has proven to be a cowardly little sucker who wants to capitulate in order to win on other issues, whatever that may be. Chris was promised by Barack and Hillary to help him but they flaked last month, too busy to be bothered to protect our rights as citizens and subsequently the Constitution as well.

Both Barack and Hillary (plus the Republicans) do not talk about FISA legislation because they have something in their closet, or should I say campaign war chests. Clinton and Obama are 2nd and 3rd in the Senate when it comes to taking money from telecom companies, only beat out by another Senator running for office, that being John McCain. The Republicans are to be expected to fail us on this important issue, but the party of the people must stay true to itself and back up Chris Dodd's efforts.

So let Obama and Clinton know we want to deny the telecoms their immunity via CREDO and make your voice heard.

Dodd May Have Dropped, But He's Not Giving Up The FISA Fight

Now that the Iowa Caucus is behind us, it was inevitable that some of the candidates on the lower tier would start dropping out of the race. One of those was Connecticut's Democratic Senator, Chris Dodd. He never really stood a chance against the likes of Obama, Clinton and Edwards, but he certainly does have a record of great repute. And to back that up, he is dedicated to adding to that record by continuing the fight against retroactive immunity.

From Chris Dodd via Daily Kos:

I count the past year of campaigning for the presidency as one of the most rewarding in a career of public service.

Unfortunately, I am withdrawing from that campaign tonight.

But there is no reason to hang our heads this evening -- only the opportunity to look towards a continuation of the work we started last January: ending the Iraq War, restoring the Constitution, and putting a Democrat in the White House.

I know a lot of you came to this email list through a shared desire to return our nation to one that respects the rule of law, and I want to make one thing clear to all of you:

The fight to restore the Constitution and stop retroactive immunity does not end with my Presidential campaign. FISA will come back in a few weeks and my pledge to filibuster ANY bill that includes retroactive immunity remains operative.

You've been an invaluable ally in the battle, and I'll need you to stick by my side despite tonight's caucus results.

So, one more time, thank you for all of your efforts throughout the course of this entire Presidential campaign.

We made a real difference in shaping the debate, and we'll continue to do so in the coming days, weeks and years.

I'll never forget you, and what we've fought for, together, over the past year.

Chris Dodd

Now that is a man with class, spirit and a determination to uphold the Constitution while Bush and his gang are doing their best to destroy it.

Dodd Talks About His Friend Benazir With K.O.

Not only his friend, but a true leader of Pakistan is now dead and a country is in chaos. Dodd argues that the Pakistan election should be delayed in the wake of the news while aid to the country should not be limited.

A Thank You From Chris Dodd

Chris sends a personal thank you out to everyone that cares about holding the tele-communications companies accountable for wiretapping Americans' phone calls:

My Hero Of The Day

If only we had enough Senators that were as brave as him to stand up to our pResident:



Update (9:44PM EST): And congrats to him on his victory today. The bill is now tabled, thanks to Dodd's backbone. If only all Democrats could learn from him.

Chris Dodd Is A True Patriot

From the floor of the Senate, Chris Dodd:

Mr. President:

I rise to urge my colleagues to vote against cloture on S. 2248, the FISA Amendments Act of 2007.

Opposing cloture is essential, because there is no unanimous consent agreement in place providing for the immediate adoption of the Judiciary Committee substitute amendment.

As you know, Mr. President, the Judiciary substitute amendment, among other things, strikes Title II of the Intelligence Committee bill—the title which seeks to provide retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies who are alleged to have violated their customers' privacy rights by turning over information to the government without warrants.

I am fully aware that the Majority Leader has various parliamentary options at his disposal to move this legislation forward. It is his right to attempt to invoke cloture.

But I regret that decision, and I hope that my colleagues will join me in stopping this legislation.

Mr. President, why do I feel so strongly about this matter?

For the last six years, our largest telecommunications companies have been spying on their own American customers.

Secretly and without a warrant, they delivered to the federal government the private, domestic communications records of millions of Americans—records this administration has compiled into a database of enormous scale and scope.

That decision betrayed millions of customers' trust. It was unwarranted—literally.

But was it illegal?

That, Mr. President, I don't know. And if this bill passes in its current form, we will never know. The president's favored corporations will be immune.

Their arguments will never be heard in a court of law. The details of their actions will stay hidden. The truth behind this unprecedented domestic spying will never see light. And the book on our government's actions will be closed, and sealed, and locked, and handed over to the safe-keeping of those few whom George Bush trusts to keep a secret.

Why does Chris Dodd have to do this while we have a Democratic majority in the Senate? It is because our current Majority Leader, Harry Reid is caving and/or helping George Bush to allow retroactive immunity to the telecom companies that illegally wiretapped millions of Americans. Senator Reid could have introduced the Judiciary Bill and avoided this travesty but claims to be afraid of not reaching a super-majority of 60 votes and an eventual veto from the President.

Reid claims retroactive immunity is inevitable, but Dodd demands to stand up to the President anyway. Dodd wants to protect the Constitution regardless of George Bush's tyranny, but Reid would rather the Senate become a permanent rubberstamp to the President, essentially destroying our democracy and the system of checks and balances that has made America that great country that it had become. Now our system is in great danger, and Reid is facilitating it.

Now the netroots is clamoring for Dodd to become Majority Leader in the 111th Congress, it is a change that we so direly need.

This is all happening now, live on C-SPAN 2.

Thank You Senator Dodd

I've already expressed my displeasure about how the "debate" was setup by MSNBC to follow the media's narrative and that for the most part, the entire two hours was a pathetic show that seemed more like "Presidential Idol" than a real debate. Well Chris Dodd is expressing the same opinion more or less over at Huffington Post and I think it is about time that we actually get to hear important questions and the answers we need to hear to pick an able 44th President.

Here are some of his desired questions and the answers to them as well:

1. Less than two weeks ago, Senator Dodd, you announced you would filibuster any FISA legislation that included retroactive immunity. Why are you opposed to amnesty?

Quite simply: you can't defend America if you don't defend the Constitution.

The Bush administration came to the telecom companies, some even before 9/11, and asked them to eavesdrop on Americans. They didn't produce court orders or warrants to justify their surveillance. And the telecoms went along with it.

These companies have some of the best legal counsel money can buy. They know the law through and through. And they broke it anyway. That is inexcusable and I'm not about to let Congress step in and stop lawsuits against them for violating the privacy of ordinary Americans.

2. Do you think waterboarding is torture?

Absolutely, according to both US law and international conventions. And in my view, the Bush Administration knows full well it is.

He also stated why he opposes Mukasey's nomination (and for good reason), just click on the Huffington Post link above. Even though Dodd was never my first choice, nor sadly does it seem like he has much of a chance, he is showing himself to be a true leader in his campaign and when he gets up on the debating stage. America desperately needs a leader, and not one that will lead us off the cliff and into the abyss of authoritarianism such as Bush has been doing for nearly seven years now.

Obama Makes Three Against Telco Immunity

After an enormous amount of pressure from the blogosphere, Barack Obama has decided to follow the leadership of Christopher Dodd and support a filibuster against granting retroactive immunity for the telecommunication industry's crimes against the American people. As accomplices to George Bush and his high crimes, the executives at AT and T, Verizon and others deserve justice for spying on our citizens, not a free pass.

From TPM:

It's official: Obama will back a filibuster of any Senate FISA legislation containing telecom immunity, his campaign has just told Election Central. The Obama campaign has just sent over the following statement from spokesman Bill Burton:

"To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies."

As we reported here yesterday, MoveOn and a dozen top liberal bloggers were preparing to wage an aggressive campaign today to pressure Obama and Hillary to say that they'll support Chris Dodd's vow to filibuster any Senate FISA bill containing telecom immunity. And late yesterday both Obama and Hillary put out statements saying that they'd back Dodd's threatened filibuster of the current legislation that's just come out of the Senate intel committee.

MoveOn was a huge part of the effort to reach out to Obama and Hillary. Well, the effort is still waiting on Mrs. Clinton. Will she show her "leadership" abilities as Obama did today? Or are we just going to have to wait for another poll and a few focus groups to tell her what to do?

Oh and by the way, where is Harry Reid and the other forty-six Democrats that have not spoken out on this issue? Perhaps the telecommunication industry's lobbyists are keeping their mouths' full of money like they have been for Senator Rockefeller. They certainly have been giving out a lot of money these days.

NY Times, Meet Senator Dodd

Maybe the writers at the paper of record do not know the Senator that can be reached via the Metro-North. Since Chris Dodd is in Washington and on the campaign trail to run for President, he is a hard man to reach. The journalists at the Times might want to know that this Senator from Connecticut has been busy in the Senate, leading a two man show that will stop the Congress from giving telco companies retroactive immunity from their crimes against the Constitution.

Corrente Wire has more:

Dodd, alone among the Democrats, stands up to a Bipartisan juggernaut to grant the telcos retroactive immunity for massive lawbreaking—a story the Times itself broke—by saying he’ll put a hold on the bill. Reid, the Senate [cough] leader, says he’ll ignore the hold. Dodd raises the ante, says he’ll [gasp] filibuster. Biden joins in. Hillary and Obama waver on the sidelines.

We’ve got the Jimmy Stewart figure, standing alone against great odds. We’ve got dissension in the Democratic caucus. We’ve got craven politicians. We’ve got bags of corporate cash.

In short, we’ve got a rich, compelling narrative, filled with drama, human failings, and high principle.

And if all that’s not enough, Dodd’s from the Time’s circulation catchment: Connecticut. What, the locals aren’t interested in their Senator?

The locals are indeed interested in this extraordinary story that exhibits the courage and leadership that is a part of Presidential candidate Christopher Dodd. Being one state and one express train over from his state, I would love to read about what Dodd is doing in the Senate. Of course like a lot of my news, I need to read it from other blogs such as this one in order to get the news.

Earth to the NY Times, get on the boat people!

Dodd Takes Pages From Richardson And Edwards

Chris Dodd's new commercial combines the ridiculousness about Edwards' haircut fiasco along with Bill Richardson's "job interview" ad to create this somewhat funny ad. When he was up on stage at YearlyKos that white hair had quite the color contrast with his face that turned bright red. No mention of that though in this thirty second piece:

Chris Dodd Smacks Down O'Falafel

Cheers to Senator Dodd for bringing it to Bill O. Nothing brings a smile to my face like seeing his mug dragged in the (figurative) mud.

Here's the video, enjoy:

Chris Dodd Has A Message For The Media

Chris Dodd is sounding better and better by the day. Although he is far behind in the polls, the leadership he is taking in regards to getting out of Iraq is highly commendable.